They just don't understand the fact that it will be a case of "us or them"; of survival of the fittest by which I mean the survival of those who are willing to fight for their food, water and shelter. They think that life will go on as it has done for the last fifty years. They should be made to read Jem Bendell's paper on Deep Adaptation before starting misleading campaigns like this one.
You probably saw the amazing images of youth activists around the world fighting climate change last weekend. Or maybe you were out protesting yourself. It was inspirational. For many people around the world climate change is destroying their homes and making their livelihoods impossible.
Yet our politicians and the media are ignoring the fact that injustices like climate change are forcing migrants to flee their homes. Instead, they are treating migrants as the enemy and a problem. It’s not only climate change that forces people to leave their homes, inequality, war and exploitation do too. As people who care about issues of global injustice it’s vital we change this.
Global injustices are forcing people to migrate
Many migrants have been at the frontline of the injustices people like you and I are fighting to change.
Inequality – global inequality is rapidly growing and pushing more people into poverty, while making a few incredibly rich. This is forcing people in poorer countries to leave their homes to seek a better life elsewhere.
War – Raging wars near Europe, like Syria and Yemen, are making millions of people flee their home countries.
Exploitation – Unfair trade deals between rich countries and those in the global south mean multinational corporations are free to exploit vital resources, like water and land. This leaves a trail of destruction that causes people to move.
The UK is playing a major role in stoking these global injustices: backing arms dealers, getting involved in conflicts, and pushing the kind of global economics that widens inequality.
Migration should be a choice, not a means of survival. And it’s down to us to change this. You might have seen my recent email about supporting our migration campaign with a donation. If you haven’t done so already, I’m asking if you can donate £3 today to stand with migrants and bring issues of global injustice into the migration debate?
Not only are many of our politicians and media aggressive to migrants, so are UK immigration policies. While we’re part of the EU, our government is blocking migrants from coming to Europe by signing deals with Egypt, Turkey and Libya. This leaves people in desperate situations and willing to risk drowning by crossing the Mediterranean. Yet judging by our government’s published plans it looks like they intend to stay part of these arrangements after Brexit.
It’s high time the UK took responsibility for the role it’s playing in forcing people around the world to leave their homes. By donating today, you can help push for post-Brexit immigration policies that welcome migrants.
When a few ‘lucky’ victims – of war, corporate power and anti-social economics – do reach Britain, they are met with the ‘hostile environment’. These are cruel policies created by Theresa May, which deny migrants who lack the ‘right’ papers their basic rights. The hostile environment blocks people from access to healthcare, housing, work, education and more. The government is planning to extend these inhumane policies to include EU migrants too after Brexit. By donating today, you can help stop this brutality.
Your donation could go towards these activities and more:
Changing the debate locally by training activists in how to have difficult conversations about migration.
Producing and printing materials that explain why people migrate to help shift the focus to the real issues.
Getting Global Justice Now speakers to events across the country to give a global perspective on the debate about migration.
Our government thinks it can get away with treating migrants with deliberate cruelty. Together we can show them they can’t. And we can make sure that the issues of global injustice we’re fighting to change are included in the debate.